Premier promises more nurses to come

Premier promises more nurses to come

Pam has been at the Daily Mercury since March 2013 and has also worked as a journalist in Batemans Bay and Wellington both in NSW. And yes, that does make her a Blues supporter. Growing up she moved around different places including Sydney, Moree, Wollongong and lived for about two years as a high school student on a small island in Micronesia called Pohnpei. Pam loves water sports, including SCUBA diving, snorkelling and kayaking but her awful balance means she’ll never touch a surf board. Ever...

REGIONAL Queensland could see more nurses in hospitals in the coming years after Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said she was set on fulfilling Labor's election commitment of introducing 400 new nursing positions.

She also said the government hoped to legislate the nurse-to-patient ratio in the coming months.

Under Labor's Nursing Guarantee: Patient Safety First policy, $110 million would be spent on creating the extra 400 nursing positions.

Under the policy, the distribution of nurses across regional and city areas would be based on patient needs and severity of job cuts under the previous LNP government.

Ms Palaszczuk said it was about creating a better health system and getting jobs for nursing graduates.

"We want to make sure that during the next round of graduates we have our policies in place to make sure these graduates get the jobs they need," she said.

Ms Palaszczuk and Health Minister Cameron Dick said they faced an uphill battle with the health system, with potential budget cuts coming from the Federal Government.

"They are going to have a huge impact on what is happening in our hospitals," Mr Dick said.

"Our task is to get to the bottom of what is happening and that is going to my priority."